A prominent publisher of distinguished hardcover fiction and nonfiction, the Alfred A Knopf company was founded in 1915; it was acquired by Random House in 1960. Since its founding, Knopf has paid close attention to design and typography, employing some of the United States’ most recognized book designers. In 1991, Knopf revived the Everyman’s Library series of classics of world literature in affordable hardcover editions originally published in England in the early twentieth century for a shilling apiece. Albert Knopf Jr. left the noted publishing house run by his parents Alfred and Blanche Wolf Knopf to become one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959.

The Cramps‘ Lux Interior born Erick Lee Purkhiser on October 21, 1946 died February 4, 2009 (aged 62). He met his wife Kristy Wallace, better known as Poison Ivy or Ivy Rorschach, in Sacramento in 1972, allegedly while she was hitchhiking. They were part of the early CBGB punk movement that had emerged in New York. By being the first known band to blend punk rock with rockabilly, The Cramps are widely recognized as innovators.